By: Mackenzie Wright | August 12, 2019

When you're an 11-year-old girl, you're probably already struggling with your body image — and how could you help it? You're either going through puberty, or are just about to be.

Selfies of waif-like beauties are passed around on social media, and every magazine features an airbrushed Goddess on the cover. It's hard to find a way to be comfortable in your own skin at any age, but it can be especially difficult at such a young age.

Teigahn Sangster, age 11, went with a friend to Starbucks in Edinburgh, Scotland. She ordered a small caramel Frappuccino and the two girls took a seat. While enjoying her coffee, the youth and her friend discovered that the barista wrote the word 'fat' or 'fato' on the cup instead of her name.

"A Starbucks barista allegedly wrote 'fat' on an 11-year-old's cup," tweeted KSBW Action News 8, with a photo of the offensive message.

For Teighan, it was a slap in the face. "I felt really shocked when I saw what was written... As we sat down my friend first spotted it and said, ‘That’s rude.’ I felt really embarrassed, upset and angry by it."

The tween called her mother and was extremely upset. She told her mother what happened. Her mom told her to bring home the cup, but Teighan said, "It doesn’t matter mom, I am fat."

"It was really upsetting to hear – it made her feel so little and knocked her confidence, I think it’s terrible," said Teighan's mother.

Starbucks says they're investigating the incident, and has offered an apology and an explanation. "We are very sorry for the upset this has caused the family. Following our investigation, we want to reassure that our store team did not write this intentionally. It was originally crossed through and the circle is an indication that the partner (employee) did not capture the name correctly. We have contacted the family directly to explain and apologize," they said in a statement.

The name 'Teighan' doesn't sound anything like ‘fat,' so the explanation doesn't really make sense. However, at least the company is trying to do something about it. Hopefully if the employee is actually at fault, Starbucks will take the appropriate action.

Ironically, young girls who are called fat are more likely to be obese later in life, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. Being body shamed leads to low self-image and depression, which makes one care less, not more, about their appearance or how they take care of themselves.